Taliban freed American citizen after envoy's visit

(Patria) - Afghan Taliban on Sunday released another American citizen from custody after a visit by Washington's envoy for hostages, Adam Boehler, the US government announced.

Amir Amiri, who had been held in Afghanistan since December 2024, was released through mediation by Qatar and was on his way to Doha on Sunday evening, an official source told Reuters, asking to remain anonymous by name or nationality.

Boehler's visit followed a week after US President Donald Trump called on the Taliban to return control of Bagram Air Base to the United States, threatening that "bad things" would happen to Afghanistan if they did not.

Amiri is the fifth American citizen released by the Taliban this year after mediation by Qatar, along with a British couple who had been in custody for eight months, the source said.

"I want to thank Qatar for helping secure his freedom," US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on social network X, confirming the release. "POTUS (President) has made it clear that we will not stop until every American unjustly detained abroad is home."

In a statement, the brother of still-detained Ahmad Habibi said he had received assurances from the administration that any deal with the Taliban would be an "all-or-nothing" agreement and that Habibi would not be overlooked. "The Biden administration has done nothing for us. We have confidence in President Trump," said Ahmad's brother, Mahmood Habibi.

The Afghan Taliban government denies holding Habibi, who was the former head of Afghanistan's civil aviation.

Bagram Base, which Trump targeted, was among the bases taken over by the Taliban movement after the withdrawal of US forces in 2021 and the overthrow of the Washington-backed government. Trump's goal of retaking Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan could eventually look like a re-invasion of the country, requiring more than 10,000 soldiers, as well as the deployment of advanced air defense, officials told Reuters.